The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives - Sciencemadness Dot Org

BUTYL TETRYL 183
MINIMUM CHARGE FOB DETONATION OF
TNT Tetryl
Mercuric fulminate 0.36 0.29
Silver fulminate 0.095 0.02
Cadmium fulminate 0.11 0.008
Mercurous azide 0.145 0.045
Silver azide 0.07 0.02
Lead azide 0.09 0.025
Cadmium azide 0.04 0.01
With each of the initiators which was tried, tetryl was more easily
detonated than TNT. Taylor and Cope 100 have determined the
minimum charges of fulminate-chlorate (90:10) necessary to
cause the complete detonation of various mixtures of TNT and
tetryl, as follows:
MIXTURE OF TNT-TETRYL WEIGHT OF INITIATOR, GRAMS
100 0 0.25
90 10 0.22
80 20 0.21
50 50 0.20
0 100 0.19
"Ethyl Tetryl." 2,4,6-Trinitrophenylethylnitramine
The ethyl analogue of tetryl was first prepared by van Romburgh,
101 who procured it both by nitrating monoethylaniline and
by nitrating diethylaniline, and reported that it melts at 96°.
The present writer has found that the pure material, recrystallized
twice from nitric acid (d. 1.42) and once from alcohol,
melts at 94°. It is comparable to tetryl in its chemical reactions
and in its explosive properties.
"Butyl Tetryl." 2,4,6-Trinitrophenyl-w-butylnitramine
The w-butyl analogue of tetryl 102 has been prepared by two
methods: (a) by condensing 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene with
n-butylamine to form 2,4-dinitro-n-butylaniline, 103 and by the
nitration of this product; and (b) by the nitration in one step of
n-butylaniline. The pure substance crystallizes from alcohol in
100 U. S. Bureuu cj Mines Technical Paper 145, Washington, 1916.
101 Rec. Irav. chim., 2, 111 (1883).
103 Davis, U. S. Pat. 1,607,059 (1926).
103 pure 2,4-dinitro-n-butylaniline crystallizes from alcohol in deep yellow
or orange needles, m.p. 92.5-93.0°.